Month: April 2018

Do you remember a couple years ago when I made a coin quilt for some friends of mine who were having a baby? They’ve continued to have some struggles with expanding their family. Christina writes a beautiful blog about their miscarriages and pregnancies, and about 6 weeks ago, they had a little boy who joined their family. I wanted to make them another quilt for the new baby, and while I don’t have a big photograph of the quilt, I do have a number of close-ups of this quilt, from a pattern called the Square Dance pattern. I bought it as a kit at Inspired to Sew and my friend Dawn at Modern Home Arts quilted it. Take a look:

This has been on my to-bake list for about 6 months. And finally, I decided I needed to make it. The recipe is from Our Favorite Recipes, ALCW of Our Saviors Lutheran Church, Kiester, Minnesota, 1970, and I have no idea why they are called Bohemian Bars, but why not. These were a great bar and for a layered bar, I thought they tasted great. There weren’t instructions on how much jam to use, so I used a thin layer, which amounted to 3/4 cup-1 cup. It definitely could have used a larger layer of jam in the middle so you may decide to use more if you decide to make these in the future.

Mix all ingredients together; pat 1/2 mixture in the bottom of an 8×8 inch pan. Spread top with raspberry jam; sprinkle rest of mixture on top of jam. Bake for 1 hour in a 325 degree oven; cut in squares.

Previously I have made olive oil cake that turned out great, and when I came across this recipe for olive oil cookies, I knew I wanted to make them. I found it in another of Mark Bittman’s cookbooks, The Best Recipes in the World. For me, this made 24 cookies. I was a little disappointed they didn’t spread, so next time, I would definitely flatten the dough before baking. But, the orange flavor was subtle, the olive oil was nice, and the cinnamon could have been a tad stronger. The nice benefit is that this is a recipe that others are likely to have not tasted before, so when taking them to an event, like the bbq I took them to, I was introducing folks to a different taste, as opposed to one of their previous standards.

Preheat the oven to 375. Combine the dry ingredients. Beat the egg with the olive oil, orange zest, and liqueur. Gently stir the liquid mix into the dry one, just until well-combined; if the mixture is stiff, add a little orange juice.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a lightly oiled cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a rack to further cool down. Store in a covered container for up to 3 days; sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

I found this recipe in The New Midwestern Table and was intrigued by the addition of coffee in a chocolate chip cookie recipe, so I thought I would try this out and see if it was the absolute best and greatest cookie recipe in the world. And, they were okay. As with a few other cookie recipes lately, I found myself annoyed that the cookies didn’t spread much. I’m blaming most of it on using butter instead of margarine as I did growing up. I also expected the peanut butter to come through more strongly, but it did not. The recipe is a fine chocolate chip cookie recipe, but not one that makes me yell from the rooftop: Go make this recipe now!

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until it’s soft and light. Add the sugars, and beat until well-incorporated and slightly fluffier, about 3 minutes. Add the peanut butter and mix until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated before adding the next, and then mix in the coffee and vanilla.

Measure the flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the flour to the butter mixture in four additions, beating slowly. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand. If you have time, chill the dough.

Drop large cookies onto light-colored cookie sheets, leaving room for them to spread. Bake until golden brown on top, 12 to 14 minutes.

I was surprised to learn that I hadn’t posted my royal icing recipe years ago when I posted the sugar cookie recipe I used. I know I posted my usual buttercream, but I on occasion also pull out the royal icing, which I have done a couple times recently to celebrate campus accomplishments — including our annual big concert, and a colleague who celebrated having worked on-campus for 20 years! Here you can see our “C” to help recognize the students and staff who put in so much work.

Royal Icing

1 lb powdered sugar
5 Tbps meringue powder
1/2 c water

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar and meringue powder. Mixing on low speed, add a scant 1/2 cup water. Mix until icing holds a ribbon-like trail on its surface for five seconds.

I found a recipe and an occasion when I wanted to make a new recipe. With spring and Easter, I found a recipe for Lemon Creme Bars that to me were reminiscent of Chocolate Revel Bars on paper, and I had to see how similar they were. I think they turned out pretty well. But, instead of revel bars, I found them to be more similar to Rhubarb Bars. I brought these in to our Registrar’s Office when they finished registration for next year. The recipe is from a cookbook I found on eBay, The St. John the Baptist Collegeville, MN Parish Centennial Cookbook. And, since I went to church there for a period of time, it seemed fitting to purchase the cookbook.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 pan. Combine sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice, set aside. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, mix at a low speed until crumbly. Press half to 2/3 of the crumbs into prepared pan. Spread the lemon mixture on top. Crumble remaining mixture over all. Bake 25-30 minutes until light brown. Bars will be soft. Chill. Cut into bars. Refrigerate.

Like I said, I’ve been making some treats for staff members lately who have been doing some great things at work. Interestingly, I was listening to the recent Bad Feminist episode of Stuff Mom Never Told You. One piece of advice they shared on it was to never bring treats into work if you’re a woman because it may prevent your ability to get ahead. This, of course, was somewhat ridiculous advice to bring but was something that caused me to ponder the advice. They also discussed the difference between cooking because you enjoy it versus cooking because its an expectation. I thought this was also an important distinction. So, for those of you who bring food into work on occasion, I’d be curious to hear your two cents.

These bars are some that I brought to a couple staff members who helped organize our Relay for Life event on-campus. We held it a few weeks ago, and these treats for them were a small thank you. The recipe is from the Blue Earth St. Peter and Paul Cookbook, 1988. I had crackers to use up and it seemed like a great way to do it. I found them somewhat reminiscent of the kit kat bars I made a while ago.